The product development life cycle has five stages — brainstorm, define, design,

test, and launch — that take an idea for an app, website, or product to its launch.

Let’s check out how research fits into the product development life cycle.

icon of a person holding a magnifying glass; text reads: foundational research

Foundational research is always done before you start designing. Within the product
development life cycle, foundational research happens during the brainstorm stage
(stage one) to help you empathize with users, understand their needs, and inspire
new design directions. During this stage, you will also make personas and user
stories, which you'll learn about soon.

In foundational research, your goal is to figure out what the user needs and how to
address those needs with your product. Strong foundational research can contradict
your personal perspective on what a good solution might be.

Questions you might consider during foundational research include:

What should we build?

What are the user’s problems?

How can we solve those problems?

Am I aware of my own biases, and am I able to filter them as I do research?

There are lots of research methods for conducting foundational research, but many
of them are based on observations. Common foundational research methods include:

Interviews: A research method used to collect in-depth information on people's

opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings. You’ll often conduct interviews of
your target users themselves.

Surveys: An activity where many people are asked the same questions in order to
understand what most people think about a product.

Focus groups: A small group of people whose reactions are studied. For example,
your focus group might bring together eight users to discuss their perspectives
about new features in your design. A focus group is usually run by a moderator who
guides the group on a certain topic of conversation.

Competitive audit: An overview of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

You'll conduct your own competitive audit later in the course, so you will
understand this research method well!

Field studies: Research activities that take place in the user's context or
personal environment, rather than in an office or lab.

Diary studies: A research method used to collect qualitative data about user
behaviors, activities, and experiences over time. Often, a user will log, or diary,
about their daily activities and provide information about their behaviors and
needs, which can help inform your designs.

icon of a profile of a head with tools and icons coming out of the top; text reads:
design research
Design research is done while you design. Within the product development lifecycle,
design research happens during the design stage (stage three) to help inform your
designs, to fit the needs of users, and to reduce risk. Each time you create a new
version of your design, new research should be done to evaluate what works well and
what needs to be changed.

In design research, your goal is to answer the question: How should we build it?

The amount of design research you conduct will vary depending on where you work and
what you’re building. The most common method used to conduct design research is a
usability study, which is a technique to evaluate a product by testing it on users.
The goal of usability studies is to identify pain points that the user experiences
with your prototypes, so the issues can be fixed before the product launches.
You’ll conduct your own usability study in the next course of this certificate
program.

Additional research methods that might be used to conduct design research include:

A/B testing: A research method that evaluates and compares two different aspects of
a product to discover which of them is most effective. For example, you might have
users evaluate two layouts for the homepage of your app to find out which layout is
more effective.

Cafe or guerrilla studies: A research method where user feedback is gathered by

taking a design or prototype into the public domain and asking passersby for their
thoughts. For example, you might sit in a local coffee shop and ask customers if
they would be willing to test your app design for a couple of minutes and provide
feedback.

Card sorting: A research method that instructs study participants to sort

individual labels written on notecards into categories that make sense to them.
This type of research is largely used to figure out the information architecture of
your project, which we’ll discuss in the next course of the program — Course 3:
Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Designs.

Intercepts: A research method that gathers on-site feedback from users as they
engage in the activities being researched. Intercepts are often conducted in the
field, so this type of research is often considered a subset of field research. An
intercept study can provide quick, high-level feedback.

icon of a rocket ship in front of a laptop screen; text reads: post-launch research
Post-launch research is done after the design is complete and your product has
launched. Within the product development life cycle, post-launch research happens
after the launch stage (stage five) to help validate that the product is meeting
user needs through established metrics.

In post-launch research, your goal is to answer the question: Did we succeed? This
research will tell you how your final product is performing based on established
metrics, such as adoption, usage, user satisfaction, and more.

You should use research methods that give insight into what the user thinks of your
product and if their experience using your product aligns with how you intended it
to function. Research methods you might use to conduct post-launch research
include:

A/B testing

Usability studies

Surveys

Logs analysis: A research method used to evaluate recordings of users while they
interact with your design, tools, etc.
The key to a user-focused product: Research
Research is crucial to creating a product that satisfies users. As an entry-level
designer, it might be tempting to assume what the user needs based on your own
experience, but as you know: The user comes first. Always make sure that your
opinions are backed up by your research. You should get feedback from your users
before, during, and after you design!

Types of research
There are two ways to categorize research: who conducts the research and the type
of data collected.

The first way to categorize research is based on who conducts the research: primary
research and secondary research.

Primary research is research you conduct yourself. Information from direct

interactions with users, like interviews, surveys, or usability studies, are
considered primary research.

Secondary research is research that uses information someone else has put together.
For example, using information from sources like books, articles, or journals is
considered secondary research.

The second way to categorize research is based on the type of data collected:
qualitative or quantitative.

Qualitative research is primarily collected through observations and conversations.

Qualitative research is based on understanding users’ needs and aims to answer
questions like “why” or “how did this happen?”

Quantitative research focuses on data that can be gathered by counting or

measuring. Quantitative research is based on numerical data that’s often collected
from large-scale surveys. This type of research aims to answer questions like “how
many?” and “how much?”

All four of these types of research can intermix. Primary and secondary research
can be both qualitative and quantitative. For example, an interview is qualitative
research. An interview conducted by you is primary research. If you review an
article about an interview conducted by someone else, it’s secondary research. It’s
important to be able to identify the difference between these types of research
because the data you collect forms the basis of your design decisions.

Primary research methods

Now that you understand the different types of research, let’s review some common
primary research methods for gathering information.

Interviews are a research method used to collect in-depth information on people's

opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings. Interviews can be performed one-on-
one or in a group setting, like a focus group.

Interviews can take the form of qualitative and quantitative research. A

qualitative research method includes open-ended questions that require participants
to explain their answers by providing more details. A quantitative research method
includes only close-ended questions, like questions that require only “yes” or
“no” responses or set multiple choice questions.

Best practice is to conduct at least five user interviews during your research. As
you conduct your interviews, you’ll start to find similarities in the feedback that
users provide about what works and what doesn’t work about your product. This is
exactly the kind of feedback you want!

Advantages
You’re better able to understand what a user thinks and why.

You can adjust your questions or refocus the discussion based on the user’s
answers.

You have the ability to ask follow-up questions in real time.

You have the ability to ask questions specific to a user’s needs.

You’ll receive direct suggestions from the user.

Disadvantages
It’s time-consuming to interview each user.

It’s expensive to pay participants and to rent space for the interviews.

The sample sizes are smaller, due to time and money constraints.

Group interviews can be affected by the bandwagon effect, or going along with the
group’s opinion instead of thinking creatively, which can discourage open
discussion by people who have an opinion that doesn’t align with the majority of
the group.

If you want to learn more about interviews, check out an article about user
interviews from the Nielsen Norman Group.

A survey is an activity where many people are asked the same questions in order to
understand what most people think about a product. Surveys are a great way to
measure the success of your product, during development and after it’s launched.
For example, sending surveys after a product is released can help you measure the
effectiveness of your product and provide a foundation for future improvements.

You can design surveys to include open-ended questions for qualitative research,
which allow research participants to clarify their survey responses, as well as
close-ended questions for quantitative research, which generate numerical data.

Advantages
You can learn more from a larger sample size.

You are able to gather results and insights quickly.

Surveys are usually inexpensive because they don’t take as much time for
participants to complete, and they can be done remotely.

Disadvantages
Surveys often do not allow for in-depth feedback; most questions will have
responses drawn from a set of multiple-choice answers.

There are some types of research questions that won’t work in a survey format.

Surveys usually do not allow for personalization.

If you want to learn more about surveys, check out usability.gov's article about
online surveys.

Understand empathy in UX design

The name UX design says it all: the user’s experience is at the center of how we
design products. The best way for you to create great user experiences is to know
and empathize with your user. As you might recall, empathy is the ability to
understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation.

As a UX designer, empathizing with users enhances the products you create because
you experience the product as your user does. The better you are at anticipating a
user’s desires and needs, the more comfortable the user will feel with your design,
and the more likely they will be to engage with your product long-term.

So, let’s explore how empathy can make you a more effective UX designer!

How to empathize with users

If empathizing with users sounds like a big task, fear not! The ability to
empathize with users is a skill that can be learned with practice. Here are six
tips that can help you become a more empathetic UX designer.

Icon of question marks, next to heading: Ask lots of questions

Ask lots of questions. As a UX designer, you cannot make assumptions about the
needs of your users. Instead, ask your users directly about their needs and wants,
which your product design can address. Ask questions that begin with what, how, and
why to gain a deeper understanding of your users’ perspective.

Icon of a video camera, and a heading that reads "Become more observant"
Become more observant. Shift your focus to the whole user and not just the words
they are using. In interviews where the user is physically present or on a video
recording, watching a user interact with you or your product can provide physical
cues that can affect your research outcomes. To help capture observations, you’ll
take detailed notes or even record your sessions with users.

Icon of an ear, and a heading that reads "be an active listener"

Be an active listener. Active listening requires you to fully concentrate on,
understand, and remember what is being said by the user you’re interacting with.
Avoid getting distracted by where the conversation is going or what you might say
next. In UX design, practicing active listening can help you get impartial feedback
directly from your users, which you can apply to improve your designs.

Icon of a person with arrows pointing towards them, and a heading that reads
"request input"
Request input. It’s important that the feedback you receive is objective and
unbiased. Friends or colleagues often provide biased, mostly positive feedback
because they want to support or please you. So, it’s important to request input
from a variety of sources and a diverse group of users. When asking for feedback,
use open-ended questions to understand the user’s actual thoughts on the experience
or product.

Icon of a silhouette of a head, opening up to reveal a brain, heading that reads

"Have an open mind"
Have an open mind. We all have biases. Remember, a bias is favoring or having
prejudice against something or someone, based on limited information. As UX
designers, we have to set those biases aside to better empathize with others. Your
goal is to understand users, not to complicate their feedback with your own
opinions and emotions.

Icon of a magnifying glass, heading that reads "Keep current on UX research"

Keep current on UX research. Follow researchers and join online communities to stay
up-to-date on the research that affects UX designers and the users you’re designing
for. Research is always changing and evolving as we understand more about human
psychology. Staying current will give you an advantage in how you understand and
interact with your audience.

Empathy vs. sympathy

Empathy is sometimes confused with sympathy, but the two terms don’t mean the same
thing. Empathy means understanding someone’s feelings or thoughts, often by feeling
the emotions yourself. Sympathy is the experience of showing concern or compassion
without feeling the emotions themselves.

By empathizing effectively with your users and doing your best to understand their
needs, you build a great foundation for a product experience that will help solve
their unique problems.

What does empathy mean to you?

Designing with empathy will enhance the products you create. By building deeper
connections with users, you’ll better understand their perspectives and pain
points. Finding that connection early can guide you down the right design path and
save you from extensive revisions of your product during a later phase of the
design process.

With a focus on empathy, you can design a product that offers users everything they
need and more.

To learn more, check out this video on the power of empathy from Dr. Brené Brown.

Recruit interview participants

As you start to think about conducting interviews for UX research, you might be
wondering: How can I find and recruit people who want to be interviewed? Well, this
reading will guide you through just that!

Determine interview goals

You want to ensure that the interviews you conduct are worthwhile, both for you and
for the participants. To make the most of your time together, you need to determine
clear goals for the interview. As a UX designer, what do you want to learn from the
interviews? Are there certain user problems or pain points that you need to
empathize with?

Here are some examples of common research goals when it comes to empathizing with
users:

I want to understand the processes and emotions that people experience around the
problem my product is trying to solve.

I want to identify common user behaviors and experiences with tasks that my product
is trying to address.

I want to understand user needs and frustrations as they relate to the product I’m
designing.
Use a screener to select a representative sample of study participants
The participants you select for a research study should be based on your research
goals and the target users of the product you’re designing. The best way to check
if potential participants meet the study’s desired characteristics and represent a
diverse set of backgrounds is by sending a screener survey. A screener survey is a
detailed list of questions that help researchers determine if potential
participants meet the requirements of the research study.

For the purposes of this course, you aren’t required to create a screener survey,
but it is a good tool to be familiar with for the future.

Screening participants often requires collecting demographics, which are the

characteristics of a group or individual. Demographics that you might ask about in
a screener survey include:

Age

Geographic location

Job title or industry

Gender

It’s important to recognize that asking demographic questions can be a sensitive

and challenging space to navigate. Be conscious and mindful of the questions you
ask in screener surveys and how you ask them. Frame questions in a way that is
respectful and inclusive, and make questions optional if they ask about demographic
data. You might want to preface demographic questions with a short explanation of
why the question is being asked. For example, “In the spirit of inclusive design,
we are asking these questions to make sure we’re reaching out to a diverse group of
people.”

Interviewing participants with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities is

extremely important to ensure that your designs are accessible and equitable. As
you start recruiting, aim to form a representative sample. A representative sample
is a subset of the target population that seeks to accurately reflect the
characteristics of the larger group.

The participants in a representative sample should include user groups that have
been commonly underrepresented in previous research. This lack of representation is
often the result of biases due to age, race, gender, or ability. Ultimately, the
research you conduct should help you create great experiences for all users.

Although it's ideal to have a representative sample for research in the workplace,
it’s okay if your representative sample isn’t as diverse during this course. Right
now, focus on gathering useful data from any sources you have available to you.
Creating representative samples often takes additional time, money, and resources
that you may not have access to at the moment. Do your best you can with the
potential participants in your networks who are available.

Find research participants

At this point, you’ve determined the goals of the interview, written interview
questions, and created a screener survey to find a representative sample of study
participants. You’re ready to start recruiting participants!

How and where you find research study participants depends on the company you work
for, the type of product you’re designing, time constraints for the research, the
project’s budget, and the accessibility of target users. Based on these project
details, you can choose from a variety of ways to find research participants.

Personal network. As a UX designer in training, your personal network is a great

way to find people to interview! Think about family, friends, or colleagues who fit
the demographics of the target users you’re designing for.

Existing user base. If you’re conducting research and creating designs for an
organization with an existing user base, you’ll likely be able to recruit
participants from that group of established connections. This might not be the case
for your current project in this program, but recruiting from an existing user base
is pretty common in the real world.

Online. Alternatively, if you’re coming up with designs for an imaginary company or

a newly established business, the easiest way to recruit participants for your
study is online. You can use your own social media to find research participants.
Or, there are websites created specifically to connect with research participants,
like UserTesting and User Interviews. You can also find online groups that have
users with the demographic characteristics that you want to interview. For example,
if you’re designing an app for parents, you might find an online group about
parenting. Before you post in an online community, make sure to check group rules
or ask an administrator for permission to ask for research participation!

Hallway testing. If recruiting participants online doesn’t seem like an option, a

less formal way to recruit for your study is to ask people in person. You can use a
recruiting method known as hallway testing, which means asking people that pass by
in the “hallway” to try the product you’re designing. Try to position yourself in a
location where you’re most likely to encounter your product’s target audience, like
a dog park or a coffee shop. Hallway testing can be effective if you’re recruiting
a small number of participants, if you have limited time, or if you want to conduct
research for free. However, finding participants in this way is risky because the
people you collect feedback from might not have all the characteristics of your
product’s potential users.

Third-party recruiting agencies. Some organizations have a budget to hire third-

party research recruiting agencies. Recruiting agencies are useful because they
save you time and can often reach diverse users.

Reach out to participants

Once you’ve identified potential research participants, send an email that
introduces the project and yourself as the researcher. If you have the budget to
provide an incentive to motivate or encourage people to participate in a research
study, like a gift card, include that in the email, too.

Here’s an example of an email that could be sent to potential research

participants:

Hello [Participant Name],

I am currently working on a project for a certificate program where I need to

conduct interviews about [explain the project].

Your participation in the research study would be very valuable to help us [summary
of project goals]. Details of the study are shared below.

Location: [Address and link to map]

Study dates: [Date range]

Time: [Time range]

Session length: [Estimated length of time for each interview]

With your permission, we will record each interview to help us decide how to
improve our product. Recordings will only be shared with project team members for
the scope of this project. A consent form is attached to this email that you need
to sign and send back.

If you have any questions, please contact me through email at [your email address].

If you are interested in being interviewed, please let me know when you are
available between [date range of study] and the hours of [time range of study].

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Prior written consent is required to record an interview, so be sure to attach a

consent form to the email. If the participant is a minor or unable to consent under
applicable law, then written consent is required from the participant's parent or
guardian. You can use this consent form template for your work in this course.

After you confirm people to interview, it’s a good idea to send email reminders the
week before the interview and the night before the interview. This will help ensure
that the people you’ve found actually show up for their interview!

Write interview questions

Keeping the goals of the interview in mind, you can write the questions that you’ll
ask real people during interviews. The more aligned the interview questions are
with your goals, the more useful the data you obtain will be.

There are a few best practices to keep in mind when writing interview questions:

Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions allow the person being interviewed
to answer freely, instead of with a simple “yes” or “no.” For example, if you’re
designing an app to help people find dog walkers, you should ask “Could you
describe your experience with finding and scheduling dog walkers?” instead of “Have
you ever used an app to find a dog walker?”. Keep in mind that the questions you
ask during interviews should not lead or pressure participants towards a desired
response; instead, asking open-ended questions lets participants share their true
thoughts and perspectives.

Keep questions short and simple. It should be easy for interview participants to
understand what you’re asking.

Ask follow-up questions. During the empathize phase of the design process,
interviews should be conversational, so encouraging participants to elaborate is a
best practice. After a participant answers an interview question, try asking them
“Why?” or use the phrase, “Tell me more about that” to keep the conversation
flowing.

gray divider line with multicolored dots

Research is an essential part of the UX design process and empathizing with users.
Taking time to outline the goals for your research and recruit a representative
sample of participants will help ensure the feedback you obtain is valuable. Good
luck recruiting!
 UX Research consent form

Thank you for your interest in participating in our research for [brief summary of
project]. Please read through this consent form and sign your name at the bottom if
you agree to participate in the research.

Voluntary participation:
Participation in this research is voluntary. You can withdraw your consent to
participate at any time.

Information collection and usage:

We will take notes and record [audio/video] of each interview session. Recordings
are kept confidential and will not be shared outside of our research team. Your
feedback and findings from the interview may be used to help [goal of the project].
However, your name and other personal identification information will remain
anonymous unless explicit permission is received beforehand.

Should you have any questions about the details of this research, please contact
[name] at [contact information]

Consent:
By signing this document, you agree that you have read and understood the
information provided above and you give your consent to participate in this
research study.

Participant’s Name: ________________________________________

Participant’s Signature: ________________________________________

Date: ________________________________________

Interview goals:

I want to understand common challenges people face trying to manage a busy schedule
and meal planning.

I want to identify frustrations people experience during the process of ordering

from a restaurant.

Interview questions:

Can you describe your current schedule and how you balance your responsibilities
with meal planning?

How often do you order meals from a restaurant? When you do, what is your
motivation for doing so?

What challenges do you face in the ordering process? How does this make you feel?

Is there any way in which you feel these challenges could be resolved?
Target participant characteristics:

Ages 18-62

Lives in metropolitan or suburban areas

People who order food from restaurants at least once a week

Include participants of different genders

Include participants with different abilities

Assessment of exemplar with a magnifying glass icon

In this exemplar, interview goals specific to the app were defined. In this case,
the goals were to learn more about the challenges people experience while trying to
manage a busy schedule and meal planning, as well as some of the frustrations they
experience while ordering from a restaurant. Understanding these goals going into
the interview helped researchers understand the needs and struggles of the users
the app is targeting.

When choosing participants to interview, certain participant characteristics were

identified to help ensure a representative sample was interviewed. For this
example, the participant who was interviewed was Reena, a 37-year-old paramedic
from a suburb near Denver, Colorado who eats out several nights a week and has a
busy schedule. For your participants, it’s important to include a diverse but
targeted group of users when conducting interviews in order to get the best data.

For the Zia’s Pizza app, the ideal participants were people of different abilities
and genders who are between the ages of 18 and 62, order food from restaurants at
least once a week, and reside in metropolitan or suburban areas.

Next, interview questions were written based on the goals identified at the
beginning of the process. Those questions were written to be open-ended to
encourage detailed conversation. During the interview, they were worded clearly so
they could be easily understood.

Now, compare the exemplar to your completed user interview preparation material.
What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to
guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Whether you're conducting interviews in

person or online, it’s important to be prepared before you speak with real users.
You want to make the most of your limited time together and learn as much as you
can about their unique perspectives. Here are a few things you can do to prepare
for interviews:

Script interview questions. Develop a list of questions that you’ll ask all of the
users you interview. It's considered a best practice to keep interview questions
fairly consistent across users, but this list of questions is just a guide. You can
deviate from the questions you prepared, if necessary, to learn more about the user
and their pain points.

Collect supplies. Create a checklist of items you'll need for the interview, such
as a computer, a printed list of questions, or paper and a pencil. If you're using
new equipment or technology during the interview, make sure you know how it works
in advance.
Research the users. Take time to learn what you can about the people you’ll
interview. If the users you’re preparing to interview provide their personal
information before the interview, be sure to take note of it. This information
might include their name, demographic information, relevant experience with the
product you’re designing, or details about how they learned about the interview.
You can use this information to extend the conversation during the interview and
build a rapport. When you work for an organization, you can also screen
participants on sites like LinkedIn to confirm they are who they say they are. You
wouldn’t want to accidentally interview someone who is working for the competition!

Practice. It’s always a good idea to practice delivering the questions you’ll ask
users before you conduct a real interview. This gives you time to make changes to
the questions you’re planning to ask and helps ensure that the interviews run
smoothly. Practicing is also a good way to determine if the length of the interview
is appropriate, or if you need to add or cut questions from your list. You can
practice asking interview questions in front of a mirror or with a trusted
colleague.

Meet the partcipant. The user and researcher shake hands as the researcher says,
"How has your day been?"
First impressions matter! As you meet users for the first time, at the start of an
interview, you want the conversation to be set up for success. Here are a few
things you can do when meeting interview participants:

Build a rapport. Building a good rapport is all about establishing a professional,

but friendly, interaction. Making light conversation, like asking how the user's
day has been, can help establish a relationship before the interview begins. Simple
questions and welcoming gestures can put the user at ease, which will help them
share their true feelings once the interview begins.

Thank users for coming. Before the interview begins, show gratitude to the people
you’re interviewing for taking the time to meet with you and share their
perspectives. Thanking users is a part of establishing a good rapport and can help
them feel like their opinions are valued.

Gather basic details. As you meet users, remember to ask about basic information
that's relevant to the interview, such as their name or demographic details.

Conduct the interview: The researcher is asking the interviewee questions.

Conducting interviews as a way to empathize with users is all about making the user
feel comfortable and asking lots of questions. Here are a couple of things to keep
in mind as you conduct interviews:

Follow interview etiquette. Speak in a clear and concise manner while asking
questions, and remain professional no matter how users answer a question. Show that
you are actively listening while users share their perspectives, such as nodding,
making appropriate eye contact, or writing notes.

Ask open-ended questions. Avoid asking questions that would lead to a simple “yes”
or “no” answer. Instead, ask questions that start with “why.” For example, avoid
asking "Do you like going to the library?" and instead ask "Why do you like or
dislike going to the library?" This will allow for more detailed conversations and
can reveal useful information to include in the product you're designing. If the
participant does provide a short “yes” or “no” answer, you should ask a follow-up
question to get them to share more.

Take Notes. The researcher sits across from the researcher and takes notes.
Interviews tend to happen quickly. Without taking notes, recounting exactly what
participants expressed can be nearly impossible! As you watch and listen to
participants during the interview, write down as much as you can capture. A robust
list of notes and observations will be helpful when you come up with ideas to solve
users’ pain points. Here are a few best practices to help you take notes during
interviews:

Highlight compelling quotes. The most obvious part of an interview is to take notes
on what the user says. Interesting quotes are strong indicators about how users
really think and feel. Including quotes in your empathy maps is a great way to
feature a firsthand perspective from a real user, which can provide valuable
insight when you begin your designs.

Document observations about participants. It's important to record not only what
users say, but also their mood, expressions, body language, and behaviors. Pay
special attention to outside factors, like a noise or distraction, that might skew
interview responses. All of these observations will be important to consider when
creating empathy maps.

Record interviews. Ask participants if they will allow you to record their
interview. If they consent, recorded interviews can be really helpful later, for
revisiting parts of an interview that you might not remember or taking additional
notes after the interview concludes.

After you've asked all of the interview questions, give users a chance to share
their final thoughts about any items discussed during the interview. Some
participants might open up about their opinions and reveal insights that they
didn’t share earlier.

Also, remember to thank participants once more. You want participants to leave the
interview feeling good about you, your future product, and the brand you might be
representing.

Documenting user interviews

As you conduct interviews, it’s important to have a plan for documenting the
information your participants share with you. We’ll review some of the tools and
best practices to apply when conducting interviews. This reading will cover both
what conducting interviews might look like in a future job as well as guidance on
completing the interviews as an independent UX designer in this course.

1.
Recording the interview
One of the best ways to ensure all the information you need from your interviews is
saved is to record the interview. Having a recording allows you the flexibility to
revisit and easily pull important feedback even after the interview is done. This
is especially useful if you’re conducting interviews on your own, so you don’t have
to facilitate the interview, take notes, and digest the responses simultaneously.

Here is what you’ll need to make a recording:

Recording equipment: The equipment you use depends on the type of interview and the
data you want to capture. If the interview is in person and you just need an audio
recording, you can use a mobile device or other voice recorder. To capture both
audio and video, you’ll need to set up a camera beforehand. If you’re conducting a
virtual interview, you can screen record the full interview. Whatever method you
use, make sure to familiarize yourself with how the equipment works before the
interview.

Proof of permission: It’s also necessary to secure permission from your participant
before you record. A signed consent form is the safest way to do this so the
interviewee is clear on the process and feels their privacy is being protected.
Revisit the reading Recruit interview participants for a consent form template.
Whether you secure permission in the days before or the day of the interview, it’s
always good to begin the interview by confirming your participant understands how
and what you’ll be recording. Remember, you want your participant to feel as
comfortable as possible, so their responses will be honest and open.

2.
Taking notes during the interview
Another tool you should use to capture important feedback from the interview is
note taking. If you were conducting interviews for a company or with a team, you
would probably have a dedicated note taker supporting the lead interviewer. This
allows the lead interviewer to focus on the participant and move the conversation
forward.

For this course, you’ll be conducting interviews on your own, so your goal should
be to capture useful responses on the most important interview topics. This can be
as simple as jotting down bullet points of interesting quotes, recording quick
observations, or writing down follow-up questions to ask the participant next.
Recording the session relieves the pressure of capturing everything in your notes,
so you can devote your attention to the interview. However, if a recording is not
possible, make sure the participant understands that when you're writing or typing,
it’s because you’re taking notes so you don’t forget any of the great information
they’re sharing.

3.
Documenting information after the interview
There are also some methods you can use to organize data after the interviews are
done. One option is to create interview transcripts, which are a typed or written
version of a conversation that’s been recorded. Interview transcripts can come in
handy when you need to quickly and easily scan interview content to look for key
quotes or feedback from research participants. However, transcribing interviews
word-for-word can be time consuming, especially if you’re working by yourself. You
won’t be required to create transcripts for this course, but feel free to try it
out for the experience!

However you organize the data, it’s a good idea to spend some time going back over
recordings and adding to your notes after all the interviews are complete. This way
you can be sure to capture the important information you need to help inform your
designs.

grey line with multicolored dots

Recording interviews and taking notes is a great way to save and revisit the
information you gather from your participants. Though it can take some time to set
up, it makes it easier to remember important quotes and help you identify insights
across interviews. Your recordings and notes will be especially useful when you
start to synthesize interview data later!

Creating an empathy map

Now that you’ve had a chance to review Makayla’s interview transcript, let’s break
down the steps for creating an empathy map. As a reminder, here’s what an empathy
map includes:

Template of empty empathy map = four quadrants, labeled SAYS, THINKS, DOES, FEELS
You can fill out this empathy map with a handful of steps.

Step 1: Add the user’s name. Include the name of the person interviewed in your
empathy map. Having a name attached to it will help if you ever need to look back
at the original transcript or research, and it’ll distinguish this map from other
maps you create.

Step 2: The “SAYS” square. Use verbatim quotes from the interview. In other words,
write down exactly what the person said; don’t summarize it in your own words. If
you summarize a quote, you might accidentally interpret the user’s meaning
incorrectly. It’s also helpful to try to capture themes in the interview that
relate to the product you’re researching. For example, if the user restates the
same problem several times during the interview, then it’s probably a major pain
point. Pay special attention to challenges your user states, and record any desired
benefits or expectations they mention.

Step 3: The “THINKS” square. Here, you can summarize the thoughts expressed by the
user. Add feelings the user conveyed through body language, tone, or other
noticeable indicators, even if they didn’t verbally express them to you. You can
make inferences for some of these feelings, but you have to be careful not to make
assumptions about the user. For example, Makayla expressed concern about her
neighbor’s teenage son and mentioned his age and qualifications. An assumption is
that Makayla wants an adult dog walker. An inference is that she wants a dog walker
with a car and a driver's license who can take the dog to the emergency vet. You
can always ask your user for clarification on their body language if you find any
contradictions.

Step 4: The “DOES” square. Makayla gave us quite a bit of detail on steps and
actions she takes to overcome the dog-walking challenges she faces. All those
actions can go in the “DOES” square.

Step 5: The “FEELS” square. List the feelings the user expresses. The notes you
include may overlap with some of what you listed in the “THINKS” square. That’s
okay! This process is meant to be a thorough documentation of your observations. If
you’re the person performing the interview, you might notice signs of feelings like
anger, frustration, excitement, and others. If the user doesn’t explicitly mention
any feelings during the interview, you can probe for feelings with the question:
“How does this make you feel?”

Empathy map example for Makayla

Now that you’ve reviewed the interview transcript and the steps for creating an
empathy map, let’s use our template to take action! Here’s an empathy map for
Makayla:

SAYS

“I’m not sure how I would know who’s safe to allow in my home or who’s good with
dogs.”

“I’d love to find a dog walker that I could prescreen.”

“I’d love a way to book someone consistently.”

“Ideally, I could schedule dog-sitting days in advance.”

“...there aren’t many people we can ask for help”

“I’m willing to pay a little more to get...this”

THINKS

Wants to book recurring dog walkers

Would like to prescreen dog walkers

Would like to find dog walkers in advance

Dog walking is expensive

Would like a dog walker who has experience with animals

Doesn’t know enough people to ask them to walk her dogs

Wants a more consistent dog walker

DOES

Works a full-time job as a teacher

Walks her dogs first thing in the morning and evening

Pays her neighbor, a 17-year-old high school student, to walk the dogs

FEELS

Guilty when she can’t take her dogs for walks

Sad she can’t spend more time with her dogs

Sad she can’t take her dogs on vacation

Worried about finding a consistent, dedicated dog walker that can commit to her
schedule

Worried about her larger dog’s needs

Worried about her current dog walker’s ability to manage a potential sudden illness
in her dog

This empathy map breaks down all the points that your team will need to determine
how your app can meet Makayla’s needs. The real challenge starts when you lay out
the empathy maps from all of your user interviews and figure out how each of your
potential users’ needs overlap.

Types of empathy maps

It's important to understand that there are two types of empathy maps: one-user
empathy maps and aggregated empathy maps (also known as "multiple-user empathy
maps"). One-user empathy maps are created by taking the data from one user's
interview and turning it into an empathy map, like the example earlier in this
reading. This approach helps designers distill a single user's thoughts, feelings,
and traits into a format that's easier to gather data from.

The other kind of empathy map, an aggregated empathy map, represents a group of
users who share similar thoughts, opinions, or qualities. Aggregated empathy maps
are created by creating multiple one-user empathy maps, then combining the maps
where users expressed similar things into a new empathy map. This helps designers
identify segments, or groups of people with similar tendencies, who will use the
product. The insights in aggregated empathy maps allow designers to identify
themes, which helps them better empathize with the groups they are designing for.
To learn more about the different kinds of empathy maps, check out this article on
empathy mapping from the Nielsen Norman Group.